/tribulation

Command	Effect
/mxt tribulation start <id> [<target>] (= /tribulation start …)	Starts a tribulation by hand, without waiting for a breakthrough; needs the gamemaster permission. Without a target it runs on the caller. status reports how far the run has got and what the current entry is keeping; stop clears it.

/mxt tribulation

Runs a tribulation by hand. It goes through the same path a breakthrough uses — the start gate, the per-entry validation before the run begins, and one entry consumed per tick afterwards are all unchanged; only the decision to start one is replaced. That is what makes the command both a trigger and an observer.

/mxt tribulation start mxt_test:probe_timeline
/mxt tribulation start mxt_test:probe_timeline @e[type=minecraft:armor_stand,limit=1]
/mxt tribulation status
/mxt tribulation stop

Subcommand	Description
start <id> [<target>]	Starts a tribulation. id is data/<namespace>/mxt/tribulation/<path>.json, and tab completion lists everything the loaded datapacks register. A refusal says why: a run is already under way, the timeline is empty, the start gate does not hold, an entry cannot run right now, or an event cancelled it.
status [<target>]	Reports the run, how far it has got (entry 2, 5 left) and what the current entry is keeping. The state is printed in the spelling the save would use, so {"remaining":37,"type":"mxt:idle_countdown"} means this beat has 37 ticks left, and not begun (empty) means the entry has just come up and has not written anything yet. A definition with a wind-up reports still winding up, %s ticks left instead, because the timeline has not started consuming yet and an entry number would be a lie.
stop [<target>]	Clears the run, leaving exactly the state a finished one leaves.

The target must be a living entity: a tribulation lives in an entity attachment and is advanced by that entity's tick. A summoned subject therefore works without a player logged in — give the selector a position with execute positioned and keep it single with limit=1:

/execute positioned 0 100 0 run mxt tribulation start mxt_test:probe_timeline @e[tag=probe,limit=1]
/execute positioned 0 100 0 run mxt tribulation status @e[tag=probe,limit=1]

Argument	Default	Description
id	required	The tribulation definition id.
target	the executor	Which living entity the run belongs to.